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Are Bronies Changing the Definition of Masculinity? Transcript
Link to video. >> MIKE: Here’s an idea: Bronies are changing the definition of masculinity. theme Not sure what a Brony is? Man, have we got a surprise for you. In late 2010, Hasbro rebooted their long hibernating Pony franchise with a new TV show called “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” It was a huge success with children everywhere. But then something unexpected started happening. Men, grown men, started watching the show. These men, these male pony lovers, these Bronies become something of a phenomenon, especially on the internet where their community continues to grow and be actually kind of awesome. So this raises an obvious question: Why on Earth would a grown man want to watch a television show about magical talking ponies learning the importance of friendship? Turns out the answer is actually really simple: It’s a great show. Bronies want to celebrate, truly celebrate, not ironically celebrate. the show’s themes, characters, and ideas as a community. And they do this using image macros, fan fiction, music, costumes, radio shows, and a huge amount of fan art. Like HUGE huge. But the fact that My Little Pony is a show for little girls provides some challenges for the Brony community. A lot of people think that Bronies must be sexual deviants or morons; cretins of some kind. But they’re not. As the Brony Study shows, they’re mostly heterosexual dudes in their twenties who aren’t in it for hot pony action. They happen to really love a show about the magical nature of friendship. So what’s with all the hate? Especially surrounding a show whose main themes are love and tolerance? Well, by unironically enjoying what’s only supposed to be for little girls, Bronies are actually challenging what constitutes masculinity. Philosopher John Stuart Mill said that we tend to accept whatever is usual as natural and Bronies challenge the usual nature of masculine media consumption. Girls are supposed to watch TV shows with cute, pink animals and boys are supposed to watch shows where aliens and robots blow each other up. But says who? The notions of what’s masculine, feminine, for adults, or for children seem like they’re permanent, but they’re actually very fluid. Up until about the 1920s, pink was actually considered a more masculine color and better for little boys. Feminist philosopher Judy Butler argued that we develop ideas of masculinity and femininity based upon the performance of gender. Bronies are men who perform what is supposed to be a strictly female pastime. That makes some people upset. Or at the very least confused. This isn’t anything new, though. There was a time when it was unheard of for a women to wear a pair pants, or for a man to stay at home and raise a child. But as more women started wearing pants instead of skirts and more men became stay-at-home-dads; as they started performing outside of their gender roles, these things became normal. Bronies are a group of dudes who say that it’s okay to be a man who likes a show about ponies and unicorns and magic and friendship. And that is has no effect on their gender self identification. Anais Nin said that it is the function of art to renew our perceptions. As the Brony community continues to grow, through the magic of friendship and internet, they challenge our perceptions of what preferences are in men and what shows we should consider “girl-y.” This is all to say that if there are just as many men as there are girls who love My Little Pony, doesn’t that make “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” just as masculine as it is feminine? What do you guys think? Are Bronies changing the definition of masculinity? Let us know in the comments. And if you haven’t subscribed, you really should. 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